Page 97 of No Going Back

Dex folded his arms. “No going rogue.”

“That hasn’t changed. I’m warning you, Dawson. You go rogue on this and we’re done. I will not be there to back you up, Onyx will not come to your rescue. And if you make it back, I’ll make sure your ass is thrown in jail. Is that what you want? Do you think that’s what Kelly wants?”

Silence echoed in the hallway.

“The moment we have something solid, you’ll know. If you cannot live with that, I suggest you resign from the team and walk away now.”

Three pairs of eyes fell on him, but Dex held Sam’s gaze. His boss was waiting for his response.

“I’m not going anywhere. Dammit, Sam, I’m just frustrated. It’s been over a year and these fuckers are still coming at us.”

“We’re all frustrated, Dex,” Liam said.

Dex looked at him. “It’s my team they want.”

“Are you fucking shitting me?” Liam snapped with disbelief. “We are one team.” He shook his head. “Maybe Sam is right. You should resign if that's how you feel.”

“Fuck, I’m sorry, Liam. That was way off base. Reborn, has been a thorn in my side since the day they killed our brothers and took Kelly. I know we’re one team. I do. My father, threatening Raven. Now it seems they’re coming after anyone connected to us? They didn’t just randomly pick that building today. My guess, they’ve been watching all of us. Maybe connected us to Sam, Dale, Mira, and God knows who else. And you can bet your ass they’ll connect the dots to your team, Liam, and Nyx will be added to their hit list. Kelly feels responsible, but if you want the truth, I feel responsible. And until we take them down permanently, that’s not going to change.”

“What do you mean Kelly feels responsible?” Liam asked, calmer now.

“She’s blaming herself for this.”

“What are you talking about?” Sam frowned.

“Everything that’s happened since we rescued her. She’s blaming herself.”

“Jesus, you two are as bad as each other. Why would she think that?”

“Kelly thinks if we hadn’t have gone to get her, we wouldn’t be in this position,” Ryan explained. “She said it at the bomb site earlier. We tried to reassure her, but I’m not sure she bought it.”

“In her head, she was already dead when we got there. It’s what ripped us apart at the time. A part of her wished we hadn’t come. Since then, fuck, the threats I got, her and I getting kidnapped. My dad’s death. Ryan nearly dying on the ship, the bomb today, Mira. Reborn are out for revenge, and we haven’t been able to stop them.”

“Jesus Christ. If your team hadn’t have gone for her, Nyx was on route. Lazir would still have been hunted and captured. Reborn would be carrying out attacks anyway, perhaps with Nyx as their target. It was always their agenda. It takes time to find the heads of these organizations. Look how long it took to find Bin Laden. We will shut them down,” Sam said.

“I know.” Dex looked between them. “I’m sorry, guys, really. I know we’re all on the same side here.”

“You better fucking believe it.” Liam punched him lightly on the shoulder. He appeared to have let Dex’s earlier comment go.

“I do, Liam. I swear, brother.”

Dex eyed Sam. He respected the hell out of his boss and knew Sam would do whatever he could to get them the green light on Aziz. “Sam? We good?”

“Yeah, we’re good. I don’t have the energy to fight with you because I’ve kind of had a shitty enough day.”

Ryan rolled his eyes. “Anyone would think he got blown up or something.” That did make them all chuckle and the tension eased.

“Look. As soon as we found out Lazir had a wife and child, CIA pulled him out of his black hole for further questioning. As we all know, they can be somewhat... persuasive. Maybe he gives us something.”

Dex nodded. “Let’s hope so. Although it’s months since we captured him. He might not know much about their plans now.”

“Maybe not. But I’m sure he knows his father-in-law well enough. I’ve no doubt our CIA friends will come up with some way to use his family to persuade him to give up Aziz. He points us in the right direction, we can take it from there.”

Dex relaxed a little. Sam was right. There was a chance Lazir might crack. They needed a break and a way to dismantle Reborn once and for all.

“I should talk to Tyler,” Dex said.

“No. Leave him. Until we have news on Mira, he isn’t ready to listen. And from what I hear, you two have been at odds all day.”

---